It's Your Turn
by Kristen3
Summary: It's been a year since Joe and Helen left for Vienna. When they discover that their investments have paid off, Joe comes up with a very surprising idea to reward the person who gave him and Helen a chance to pursue their dream.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **This idea came to me recently after watching "Final Approach." I just knew I had to do it. It felt good to write a _Wings _story after so long. I hope this won't be my last! :D

Even after almost a year, Joe sometimes still couldn't believe they were here. His and Helen's small apartment in Vienna felt strangely like home. But it would never take the place of Nantucket. They both missed their friends. Many times, Helen had said so. But they'd be seeing everyone in a week, and Joe couldn't wait.

Helen was with her famous cello teacher, so Joe was a bit bored. With a sigh, he grabbed their small computer. He quickly checked his email, and found nothing really interesting. Brian frequently emailed him updates on the status of Sandpiper. All was well, surprisingly. Despite Joe's initial reservations about leaving the airline in the care of his irresponsible younger brother, Brian had lived up to the situation. Sure, Aeromass was doing well, thanks to Roy and his sleazy tricks and advertising, but Brian had surprised everyone by keeping Sandpiper afloat.

Joe loved his brother more than he could say. He knew Brian hadn't wanted to stay and run the airline, but he'd volunteered at the last second. Over the eight years they spent as co-pilots, Joe had more than once wanted to kill Brian. But now, he couldn't imagine ever feeling that way.

Memories of those years flooded Joe's mind as he continued to surf the Web. Right before they'd left Nantucket, Brian and Joe had found close to a million dollars in cash from their father. They'd split the money in half. True to form, Joe had very carefully invested his half. He knew Brian would suggest buying something frivolous with the money, but that wasn't Joe's style. Joe had meant to keep an eye on the investments, but somehow, he hadn't quite kept up with it. Between Helen's music lessons, and Joe's part-time job flying for a small airline here in Vienna, there wasn't time. Now, with time to kill for once, Joe checked on the accounts. When the Website loaded, the figure he saw made his jaw drop. Apparently, Joe's plan to put the money into stocks and bonds had paid off. It had doubled since he'd put it away.

"We're rich," Joe whispered to himself. Suddenly, he wished Brian were here. After all, if it weren't for his brother, he never would've found the money. He remembered how he had planned to throw out the old suitcase, before realizing what it contained. Suddenly, he had an idea. Before Brian offered to stay and run Sandpiper, he'd planned to live in the tropics, essentially taking an extended vacation. At the time, Joe had thought Brian was simply being his usual lazy, reckless self. But after spending a year operating a business, maybe Brian had earned a little relaxation. He had to discuss this with Helen, but he had a feeling she would agree with him.

"Our money has done _what_?" Helen asked when he explained the situation later.

"It's doubled. We really are rich. We can do whatever we want, Helen. But I think I know what we should do first."

"What?" Helen still couldn't quite believe all that Joe was saying. They were rich, yet she didn't feel any different.

"I think we should give some of it to Brian, so he can go live in the Caymans like he wanted. It's his turn."

Helen's first instinct was to say no. This was their money. They could finally start a family. Not only that, but Helen could have the music career she'd always wanted. "You want to give it to Brian?" she asked.

Joe nodded. "He's kept Sandpiper running all this time. It couldn't have been easy. He did it for us, so that we could have our dream. So you could have yours." Joe moved closer to Helen. Coming here had been her idea. She was the one who got an offer to study the cello here.

Helen sighed. Joe was right. "Being here in Vienna has been a dream come true. I always knew my music would lead somewhere. But I miss my old life. But...do we have to give him _all_ the money?" She loved Brian, but there were so many things she and Joe could do with the money. Brian didn't have a family, or any responsibilities.

Joe laughed. "I don't think that'll be necessary. We'll just give him enough so that he can stay down there for a couple of months. Then he can come back, and we can run Sandpiper together. Just like we used to."

At that, Helen let out a sigh. The thought of going back to their lives on Nantucket was wonderful. Even though life on that island wasn't always as exciting as she'd have liked, there was something about it. It was there that she and Joe had finally gone from being just friends to something more. Helen could never regret that. After all, ever since she was a little girl, she'd dreamed of being Mrs. Joe Hackett. Now she was. "OK," she finally said. "Let's do it."


	2. Chapter 2

A week later, Joe and Helen stood just outside the gate which led to the Tom Nevers Field airport. No one knew they were here. They'd booked a flight from New York on one of Roy's planes. They were betting that, as long as they paid their bill, Roy wouldn't think to look at the names of his passengers. It had worked.

The building itself had not changed. "Are you ready for this?" Joe asked, turning to Helen.

Helen could only nod. For a year, she'd been away from everyone. Even Casey, who was often critical of Helen's life. But her nervousness about seeing her sister again could not dampen her excitement. Taking a deep breath, both walked through the gate, and into the familiar terminal.

They stood there, frozen for a moment. Then, before they knew it, they were surrounded. Their friends gasped at their sudden appearance. Joe and Helen were hugged by Brian, Fay, Casey, and Antonio. Even Roy came over to greet them.

"We love you all, and we're glad to see you," Joe said. "But Helen and I have something we'd really like to discuss with Brian before we all catch up."

"You're having a baby, aren't you?" Fay asked.

Helen smiled. "No, that's not the secret. Just let us talk to Brian for a minute, and then we'll tell everyone else, OK?"

Brian couldn't quite believe it. "You guys have something you want to tell _me_?"

Joe and Helen could only nod in response. They were so excited about telling Brian, they thought they might burst.

"Well, why don't we go in the office?" Brian asked. He pointed at the room which had once belonged to Joe, but now it was Brian's as he ran the airline by himself. The three of them walked in there, leaving the others standing there, stunned.

"Brian, you remember the money we got from Dad?" Joe asked as soon as they were alone.

"Yeah!" Brian replied. He remembered dipping into his share shortly after Joe left. It was the only way to get the creditors to stop calling.

"Well, Helen and I took our half when we went to Vienna, and I made some investments." Joe paused, waiting for Brian to make one of his usual quips about how Joe was too straight-laced.

"Yeah, and?" Brian said, too impatient to bother making fun of Joe at the moment.

"Well, those investments have paid off. Helen and I have doubled our money. We're rich!"

Overcome with shock, Brian could do nothing but hug his brother. "That's great. Now you can turn Sandpiper into the kind of airline you've always dreamed of."

Joe smiled. "Yes. And I plan to do just that. But first, Helen and I want to give you part of the money. You gave up a lot this past year, helping to run the airline so that I could leave. Now it's your turn. Go live in the Caymans for a couple of months."

"Are you guys serious?" Brian looked from his brother to Helen, trying to figure out if this was a joke.

"Very," Joe answered. "You've earned it. But I want you to come back. Because if Sandpiper's going to be the kind of airline I'm planning to make it, I want my best co-pilot here with me. OK?"

"You've got a deal," Brian said, shaking Joe's hand. He thought about the years he and Joe had spent here together, running the airline. Many times, Joe had urged his brother to take responsibility. But now, Joe was giving him a chance to spend a few months doing nothing. After the year he'd just had, running this place by himself, the idea seemed heavenly. "Thank you so much!"

Helen smiled. It was worth every penny they were giving away to see Brian so happy. "You're welcome. I've spent the last year playing my music, and it's been wonderful. But Joe and I missed this place like crazy. I've had a chance to live out my dream, and now there's nowhere else I want to be other than here. Joe's had his moment with Sandpiper. But you never got to do what you wanted. We just wanted to make sure you got your chance."

"I can't thank you guys enough. Running the business has been a real eye-opener for me, but I'm more than happy to hand it over to someone else now! It's nice to know that I can go lie on a beach somewhere, and know that Sandpiper's in good hands."

Joe stepped forward, placing his hands on Brian's shoulders. "It always was in good hands."

The love Brian felt for his older brother was overwhelming. He hugged Joe tightly. They really were here from Vienna. Now that they were back, it felt as if everything on this island was just as it was supposed to be.

**The End**


End file.
